


Walking Dead: Unknown Trials Episode 5: Renewal

by AssassinMasterEzio91



Series: Unknown Trials [5]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Bullying, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/F, Feelings of Abandonment, Hallucinations, Kidnapping, Mental Health Issues, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:48:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssassinMasterEzio91/pseuds/AssassinMasterEzio91
Summary: Entering into Ericsons, Clementine felt lost, abandoned, unaware that she was about to find herself at the centre of a mystery that threatens many at the school, a mystery she finds herself compelled to uncover, unexpectedly finding love along the way.
Relationships: Clementine/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Unknown Trials [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652251
Comments: 13
Kudos: 9





	1. Renewal: Chapter 1

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Chapter 1**

Clem groaned as she felt herself waking up again, suddenly tensing as she suddenly remembered what happened.

‘ _Shit, that’s right...I...it was Mr. Chapman the whole time...not Carver...’_ Her mind raced. _‘I...he must’ve taken me to...urgh, so cold, wait, I’m not...’_

Her eyes snapped open and she heard the screams then.

“MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!” One voice cried aggressively.

Another voice cried out, sounding weaker. “Mmm mmmmmmmm!”  
  
“MMMMM!” Clem tried to scream out, only to find she too had been silence.

She slowly began to realize her situation, and the situation of her fellow captives. They were in an underground room, almost completely white, the area they were lying in was set up like some sort of photo studio, with lights and such all aimed at them, just behind that area was a rough ‘living room’ area with a sofa, several cabinets and a chair at a desk with a computer.

The rest of the underground chamber was out of sight through a large open doorway, Clem found she wasn’t alone, for there, with her was Minerva and the missing Michelle. Like her they were all tied up, their hands behind their backs, bound at the wrists by duct tape, their legs bound the same way at the ankles and thighs, their mouths were covered with more strips of tape and worst of all, Clem realized, they’d all been stripped to their underwear.

Clem blushed, realizing she had been reduced to the black panties and white bra she had been wearing, while Michelle was in a lacy black bra and purple thong, no doubt what she had been wearing when she was taken in the first place.

“MMMMMMMMMMMM!!” The scarlet faced Minerva shrieked into her gag.

But her struggles only made things worse, being stripped to her underwear was even more humiliating for Minerva, as her underwear only consisted of a pair of tight fitting red panties, no bra, meaning her breasts were fully exposed and jiggling with each struggle she made.

Clem tried to push past the embarrassment and think. _‘Fuck, okay, okay...um, let’s see, I was investigating, found this place and was attacked, but, why, why is he...oh shit…?’_

Her eyes went wide as panic began to set in, she wasn’t sure what was going on, how long she had been out or what was going to happen next. She could only take note of her fellow captives struggles, Michelle’s being more sluggish from being held captive longer. Then she saw them, several red binders, each with a name on it, three of those names standing out, Sam, Sarah, Becca. There was another binder, lying on the desk next to the computer that had Michelle’s name on it. Two empty binders were open on top of a trolley containing several items. Clem went numb with fear certain that her own name and Minerva’s were on those binders.

It was then they heard the footsteps and all three tensed, Minerva tried to move so her breasts weren’t exposed. Then he stepped into the room, clad in a white undershirt, dark red blazer, jeans and sneakers, Mitch Chapman, the man behind their captivity.

“Ah, awake now, excellent, welcome girls to your new role in my masterpiece.” He remarked. “It’s been a joy working with all those ladies, hmmm. But it seems Miss Brown is almost useless to me now...I hope, Miss Hutchison, Miss Leigh, that you’ll both be worth the effort, I never imagined I’d get both of you at once...Thank you for delivering yourself to me so readily, Miss Hutchison.”  
  
“MMMMMMMM!!” Clem cried.

He just laughed and then produced his camera, beginning to take pictures of them, capturing their humiliation, sometimes he moved close up, to get just one of them, others he caught both of them, sometimes getting Michelle too. Throughout it all he remained in control, blocking Minerva’s many attempts to move so her breasts were covered again, forcing her to bear them for the camera. The whole time his expression never flickered, never betrayed a hint of what he was thinking.

Only his words did so. “So perfect, such wondrous subjects, my best yet. Capturing the height of beauty, at it’s most pure, no make up or fancy clothes or anything like that, albeit still some vanity depending on the girl, but...”

Clem meanwhile realized he had certainly done this before, many times in fact, for she then properly saw the camera.

It was the exact same model as the camera Sam mentioned, which meant only one thing. Seeing her look Chapman laughed.

“Yes, I am indeed the one you’ve been looking for, the one behind _all_ those disappearances.” He confirmed. “I tried for so long, to find girls worthy of my image...so many names...Mitch Chapman, Anthony Jackson, Roger Lam...all false of course. It also helped that I could keep tabs on Bill while keeping a low profile so he didn’t realize that all three men were one and the same...a good cover up I thought.”

Clem froze, eyes wide, staring as the other two continued to struggle. He was admitting it all, she had been right on so many things in this case except one, the culprits identity and now here he was, revealing to her just how obvious it had been. All right there in front of her and yet, she hadn’t seen it.

“You were pretty clever to get as far as you did, especially with your false assumptions about Bill.” Chapman mocked. “But it’s useless, over now. Nobody knows we’re here and I found all your little evidence collection and destroyed it.”  
  
“MMMMMMMMMMMMM!!” Clem screamed in horror.

“Oh but we’re wasting time...remember, always take the shot.”

With that he raised the camera again, ready to resume his ‘photoshoot’.


	2. Renewal: Chapter 2

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Chapter 2**

Violet grimaced unsure what to do or think, she couldn’t believe that this had happened, that Minerva had disappeared, likely kidnapped, the latest victim of the kidnapper no doubt.

“What are we gonna do, if she’s been taken…?” Sophie cried out desperately.

Violet shook her head. “We’ve gotta keep it together, Sophie, we need to talk to the police about this first, you know...like we’re supposed to.”

Sophie nodded and together they left the dorm room and hurried to find the people they were looking for, knowing that they were in fact already on the school grounds at this moment. Finally they found them both, Shawn Green in his dark blue police officers uniform with matching boots and Andre Mitchell, wearing a black version of the same uniform and boots.

“Excuse me, officer Mitchell, officer Greene.” Sophie called out.

They turned to her, surprised and Shawn spoke.

“Sophie Leigh, correct?” She nodded and he continued. “Is something wrong.”  
  
Sophie shuddered, almost completely losing control. “It’s my sister, she’s...she’s gone.”

“We think it was the same guy who took Michelle, and Becca and Sarah before.” Violet added. “There’s been a struggle, in the dorm room.”  
  
“What?” Shawn gasped.

Andre narrowed his eyes. “This is crazy, right under our noses, you’re sure of this?”  
  
“That’s what it looks like.” Sophie said at last, trembling.

Andre and Shawn shared a look and then, following the girls lead, they made their way towards the dorm room themselves.

Having seen the state of the room, Andre and Shawn immediately closed it off and Andre went to report to the Principal and faculty about what had happened. Meanwhile Shawn turned to Violet and Sophie.

“I think it’s best I get official statements from the two of you, tell me please, exactly what happened.” He explained. “When is the last time you both saw Minerva Leigh?”  
  
“The last time I saw her was yesterday.” Violet admitted as she subconsciously adjusted her eye patch again. “Just in passing as I was going to my class and she was going to hers.”

Sophie then added. “I saw her after that, we were both in our dorm last night and I told her today I’d be going out to study in the library. She said she was tired and that she’d join me later, after she got more sleep.”  
  
“Was that unusual?”

“No, her medication sometimes makes her drowsy.” Sophie remarked. “Anyway, she didn’t show up, so I came back to see if she was alright and, saw the room like that.”  
  
Violet then added. “That’s when Sophie called me and I came to see what was up.”  
  
“Did either of you girls touch anything in the room?” Shawn asked.

They both shook their heads and clarified. “Just the door handle to open it and look inside.”  
  
Shawn nodded and instructed them to both go back to Violet’s dorm for now while he waited for Andre to return.

Having given their report and, for now at least, having done all they could, Violet and Sophie began to make their way back to Violet’s dorm.

“Damn, I can’t believe this.” Violet muttered.

“I, I just...” Sophie choked out, almost in tears. “My sister, what am I gonna do, what if something...happens to her, what…?”  
  
Violet turned to her, gently squeezing her shoulder. “Hey, Sophie, c’mon, calm down. We’ll find her, she’ll be alright. Don’t forget, Clem and I have been looking into what has been going on and we managed to find quite a lot of evidence.”

“That’s...that’s right.” Sophie remembered. “Do you think you’ve found them?”

Violet sighed. “I’m not sure, that’s what we were doing when you called...but Clem kept at it when I came to see you. She might have tracked whoever was behind this down, we might have found their hideout.”  
  
“Then you should have come straight to us.”  
  
They both started and turned, seeing Andre standing there, glaring.

“Where is this evidence, I’ll need to see it, if Miss Hutchison has found the location, we need to get there quickly.” He explained.

Violet nodded and quickly began leading the way, Shawn hurrying to catch up when he saw them, Andre quickly explaining what was going on to him. They hurried to the dorm room Violet shared with Clem, where they had been doing their investigation. Violet fully expected to find Clem there, still working on the evidence, or maybe the evidence would be there, all worked for her to find, while Clem had gone on ahead.

Instead she found Clem gone, and the room trashed, with all the important evidence they had found gone.


	3. Renewal: Chapter 3

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Chapter 3**

The click of the camera sounded yet again while Clem, Minerva and Michelle moaned as they writhed against their bonds. Chapman laughed and shook his head.

“Hah, is that really the best you can do...” He taunted. “Look at you, wriggling around like that, all you are doing is making my pictures even better.”  
  
“MMMMMMM!” The trio moaned.

Minerva especially was unable to keep the blush off her face, which was now almost matching her hair in colour, due to her lack of bra making her struggles even more humiliating for her.

Finally Chapman put his camera down and turned back to them, eyebrow raised.

“I must admit, it was quite...impressive. All that investigating you did, took you so long to find my hideout, when I was right here under your nose the whole time.” He mocked Clementine directly. “Yet still, it may have taken you a while, but you found the hideout, which is more than anyone else ever did, except for that one meddling cop that got what was coming to him.”  
  
“MMMMMM!?” Clem squealed, realizing he was talking about Lilly’s late husband.

He laughed. “Yet even when you found the hideout, you still didn’t realize I was the one you were after, that is surprising.”

He smirked and then, suddenly, he reached out and ripped the tape away from Clem’s mouth, making her scream.

Clem grimaced, trying to ignore the pain and tingling where the tape had covered her mouth.

“Y-you...” She wheezed.

Chapman just laughed. “It’s a shame, I honestly thought you were smarter than that, Miss Hutchison. You have severely disappointed me.”

“F-fuck you.” Clem spat. “You act as if this has some higher purpose.”  
  
He laughed again. “Oh but it does, I’ve been explaining it to you, you just don’t seem to understand...”  
  
“It doesn’t matter, I left a message for Violet, she’ll find it and-” Clem tried to fire back her own taunt.

Chapman shook his head. “You weren’t listening, were you?”  
  
“Violet _will_ come for me.”  
  
He calmly explained. “You weren’t listening, I knew you’d found my location, so I destroyed all the evidence remember, I went into your dorm after capturing Minerva and destroyed it all. Anything that could remotely incriminate me.”

Clem froze at that, horror filling her, it couldn’t.

“N-No...” She gasped. “Violet...”  
  
“That’s enough about Adlon, one-eyed bitch, talk about ruining herself, no longer worthy of being part of this higher purpose.” Chapman snapped. “She doesn’t deserve my gift.”

His words sparked a fire within Clem however, and also made Minerva react too. Both of them furious for insulting Violet the way he had.

Minerva momentarily forgot her embarrassing exposure and tried to launch herself at him, shrieking through her gag. He easily dodged however as Clementine then let her temper flare up.

“You sick fuck!” She yelled. “You have no right to talk about Violet that way!”

“I can talk about her however I please, girl.” Chapman spat. “She is a one-eyed, ugly little-”  
  
“MMMMMMMMMM!” Minerva screamed, squirming.

Clem nodded. “Yeah, Violet is not ugly, you’re just a sick pervert who gets his jollies photographing girls in their underwear, call it a noble purpose or a gift all you want, but that’s a fact. You’re just a pathetic creep who is sick in the head.”

Michelle, still feeling weak from her prolonged captivity, watched all this in amazement, and Chapman noticed the look in her eyes, could see she was beginning to rally and knew he had to fix this, he couldn’t lose control, especially not after the vicious and completely false, in his view, insult that Clementine dared level at him.

“I see I was wrong.” He snarled, lashing out.

Clem yelped as he delivered the harsh kick to her side and groaned, feeling the burning pain as he pulled the wheeled cart closer.

“A correction still needs to be made, on _all_ of you.” He added.

Looking up through her tears Clem gasped in horror as he held up a syringe, likely the one he used to drug them before, ther were at least two more on the cart and Clem knew right then he was going to drug them again.

She struggled desperately.

“No, no!” She pleaded.

“MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!” Minerva and Michelle shrieked into their gags, trying to struggle away.

But it was no good, he targeted Minerva first, easily grabbing her and making her squirm, her eyes wide, fearful, her exposed breasts just making things worse for her, before he injected her in the neck. He had the second syringe in hand and grabbed Michelle even more Minerva went limp, her eyes fluttering closed.

Michelle shook her head, pleading. “MMM MMMMMMMMMMMM!”  
  
He just laughed darkly and injected her, leaving her to pass out too before finally approaching Clementine.

“Nobody is coming for you, girl, and before long, none of you will remember any of this, but only after I’m done with you and got what I needed.” He told her. “So...it’s just too bad, but I’m starting to wonder, why spare all three of you...maybe one of you should die...but that’s a decision for another time.”

With that he injected her and Clem immediately felt everything going fuzzy as her vision swam and slowly turned dark, her limbs growing heavy as she was no longer able to move them and soon, like the others, she passed out, helpless and at Chapman’s mercy.


	4. Renewal: Chapter 4

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Chapter 4**

Violet tried to calm her breathing, her worries building, as she finished getting changed, pulling on a black T-shirt, a frayed navy blue hoodie that she left unzipped, ripped jeans and sneakers. She had to try and find the others. She couldn’t believe all that was happening, she could only pray that Clem wasn’t actually gone, that there might still be a chance. Exiting the trashed dorm room she met Sophie who had also changed, now in a white knee length skirt, black blouse, white ankle socks and white flats.

“What are we gonna do, I mean…?” Sophie began.

Violet bit her lip. “Let’s find the others first, be absolutely sure nobody’s seen Minerva or Clem...then, then we might have to considered something else.”  
  
Sophie shuddered. “Oh god, please don’t let it...”  
  
“We’ll figure it out Sophie, I promise.” Violet said quickly, trying to reassure her.

Sophie just nodded and together they hurried to find the others. It didn’t take them long, they were all at their usual table, all dressed casually, clearly unaware of the chaos that had taken place. Violet only noticed this as she looked them all over, taking not of their casual conversations and manner of dressing, nothing rushed about it like her and Sophie.

The first ones she saw were Duck and Louis, clad respectively in brown pants, a grey T-shirt and brown boots and a pink polo shirt, khaki pants and hi-top sneakers. They were simply chatting together, smiling casually.

Nearby Brody sat, wearing a black knee length skirt, a white blouse and white flats, chatting with the other girls in the group. Ruby wearing a black tank-top, black leggings and flats, Sarah in a light caramel collared sweater, red pants and flats, Becca in a black mid-thigh shorts, a dark blue crop-top and black flats and finally Mariana, in a purple tank-top, light green sports shorts and white tennis shoes.

Gabe sat on Mari’s other side, clad in cargo shorts with a blue T-shirt, white socks and black sneakers. He was talking with Omar, who wore an orange T-shirt, crisp jeans and sneakers, and Aasim, in a black undershirt, blue blazer, khaki pants and loafers.

Finally Marlon, in torn jeans, a black T-shirt, black leather vest and black combat boots, sat talking with Mitch, who wore denim jeans, a dark blue tank-top and dark blue sneakers. With Willy and Tenn, respectively clad in a dark red T-shirt, a black jacket, jeans and boots and a dark blue T-shirt, grey cargo pants and sneakers.

Nodding to Sophie, Violet walked over to the group.

“Hey Vi, Sophie, there you guys are-” Louis began.

Violet cut him off. “No time Louis, have any of you guys seen Clem or Minerva?”  
  
They all froze at that, looking startled, before slowly admitting they hadn’t.

“Shit...”

It was clear from their expressions that Sarah and Becca knew what Violet and Sophie were thinking.

“This isn’t good, Clem must’ve found the place and got caught, Minerva has been taken too, I’m sure of it.” Violet fretted, panicking.

The others were fretting too, worried.

“What are we gonna do?” Sophie asked fearfully.

The others all, to Violet’s surprise, looked to her and she grimaced, hating being once again in the spotlight. But she knew she needed to focus, that it had to be done and she needed to focus.

“There’s no other choice.” She decided. “We need to get the police involved and I need to contract those who Clem and I spoke to, got our information from, it’s an emergency, I’m sure they’ll understand. Maybe together we can rebuild the evidence that was destroyed and figure out an actual answer.”  
  
The others were clearly fearful, but they knew, just like Violet, that they had nothing else to go on, this was their only option left.

* * *

So it was Violet entered the room that had been arranged for the meeting, unable to believe that everybody had agreed to turn up.

‘ _I just hope we can figure this out together.’_ She thought to herself as she entered the room. _‘Wait, what the hell, what is he doing here?’_

She was startled when she entered the room and the first person she saw, sitting with a glare on his face, was Carver, clad in a pink undershirt, a dark blue tie, a tan jacket, khaki pants and loafers.

“Ah, Miss Adlon, you’re here, I hope you can explain what this is all about.” Principal Marshall remarked.

He was dressed up smartly as ever, a light green undershirt, black tie and suit jacket, black pants and dress shoes. Seated next to him, looking to her anxiously was Omid and Christa, respectively clad in a red button up shirt, khaki pants and loafers and a silver button up blouse; black pencil skirt and heels. Her friends were all present, along with Shawn and Andre.

“Well…Clementine and I have found important information about the kidnappings, but now Clementine...and Minerva have been kidnapped as well...I’ve asked everybody here, along with some others, who are involved in this, hoping they can help us rebuild the information we have since it was destroyed, to see if we can find out the truth of who is behind this and where they are.”

Everyone in the room shared startled looks at this, just as the door opened and the last people who needed to be present arrived.

First to enter was an anxious looking Shel, clad in ripped jeans, a black hoodie and flats, who only relaxed slightly upon spotting Becca was okay. Then came the Fairbanks family, John in the lead with Greg next to him, respectively clad in a brown button up, jeans and loafers and an orange T-shirt, slacks and sandals

Just behind him was Sam, clad in denim shorts with a white tank-top and brown calf-high boots, discreetly holding hands with Paige who was wearing blue shorts, a blue T-shirt under a red flannel shirt and black sneakers. Finally was James, in a grey beanie, a black T-shirt, jeans and hi tops and Alex wearing a light purple hoodie, whitewashed jeans and sneakers.

“Okay, good, we’re all here.” Violet said at last. “Okay, let’s...let’s go, we need to explain what’s going on.”  
  
With that Violet began to explain everything they had gathered and was aided by those who knew more of what was going on and had shared evidence with her and Clementine. As she did so and as they began attempting to piece everything together, Violet came to a rather startling conclusion.

She couldn’t believe it. _‘Fuck, I don’t believe this, Carver, our number one suspect is fucking innocent?’_

It left her wondering, just who was the culprit when suddenly it hit her.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one, they were all apparently coming to realise the truth too,

especially when they noted he was the only member of staff that was missing.

“Wait a minute, it’s...” Violet burst out.

Sam nodded. “The person behind this...had a camera, that camera I told you about...The photography teacher...Anthony Jackson...”  
  
“And Roger Lam.” Violet said. “Or to use the name he’s using now, Mitch Chapman.”  
  
After some more careful discussion it soon became clear that they were indeed on the right track, Mitch Chapman was their culprit, but what could they do about it. There was no way of knowing right now where he was and if the captive girls were with him Then suddenly, startling everyone, the police radios went off.

“Shawn, Andre, can you hear me?” A familiar voice called out through them. “It’s Lily, I’ve got important news...”


	5. Renewal: Chapter 5

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Chapter 5**

Feeling herself waking up again from her drugged sleep, Clem groaned and then tensed, eyes going wide in horror as she realized that she wasn’t free, she was still trapped.

“MMMMMMMMMM!”

She turned her head and saw Michelle and Minerva also there, still tied, Minerva still red-faced about her exposed breasts. They were struggling against their bonds and Clem realized she too was still bound, it was clear they were trapped and still in the secret area, still prisoners of Chapman.

“Guys?” She whispered, eyes widening as she realized she still wasn’t gagged.

They looked to her, both of them looked almost hopeless. But Clem wasn’t going to give up, She began trying to push herself along the ground, ignoring the discomfort at being in just her underwear. Finally, after some time, she was able to reach the other two.

“Hold on, it’s...it’s not over yet.” She told them as she moved around. “We can figure something out if we just think.”  
  
With that she worked hard to try and peel the tape off their mouths, finally removing their gags.

“Urgh, fuck...” Minerva hissed. “Of all days I choose not to wear a bra...”  
  
Michelle’s voice was shaky. “I...this is it, it’s over for us, we...”  
  
“No it’s not, we can figure something out.” Clem insisted.

Minerva sighed. “I wish it was that simply Clementine. But we...”  
  
“Are in a lot of trouble.”  
  
They frozen, turning their heads to the large doorway, eyes wide, as Chapman stood there, having caught them.

He advanced on them, glaring darkly, looking rather irate.

‘ _The others must know, it’s...he’s been found out, his time is running out.’_ Clem realized, but also realized. _‘Shit, but then, what’s he going to do to us, he-’_

“Please, I...” Michelle choked out in tears.

Chapman shook his head. “Enough, I can’t believe this, how dare they think they can do this to me. They don’t understand my vision, my gift to them, they-”

“There is no gift!” Minerva yelled. “You-MRUGH MMMMMM!”  
  
She was cut off by Chapman taping her mouth again and then Michelle’s before turning to Clem.

“She’s right, you’re just a sick pervert, you’re gonna get what you deserve and-” She snapped.

But then she froze as he suddenly pulled up his syringe again.

“Enough, I would’ve let you all go once you’d served your purpose, like those other girls. Given you enough of a dose to make sure you don’t properly remember what happened.” He explained. “But this leaves me no choice. Guess they’ll be finding three young corpses in the end...but first.”

He then injected Clem’s in the neck with the syringe, Clem yelped and tried to pull away, but rather than passing out this time, she simply began to feel groggy.

“Now...I’ll silence you in a minute, Miss Hutchison...” He growled. “Need to decide, who dies first...”

His gaze lingered over each of them, the braless Minerva just a bit longer, as if choosing her as the first to die, or simply proving Clementine’s point of him being a pervert.

Before he could even do anything to them, there was a loud noise from the other room, the sound of the door to the hidden bunker opening.

“What?” Chapman hissed.

He immediately leapt up, grabbing a nearby camera tripod and moved to take cover by the door.

Lifting her head, trying to do something, anything, despite her weakened state, Clem called. “Look out, he’s gonna ambush you!”

“Shut up!” Chapman yelled.

The figure came in, ready and as such only lost their grip on their gun, instead of being hurt.

“Lily?” Clem gasped.

For it was indeed Lily who had entered, clad in a pair of black pants, a long sleeved grey T-shirt and simple sneakers.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Chapman snarled. “Another meddling cop.”  
  
“You’ll pay you bastard.” Lily spat.

Seeing the chance Clem called out. “Lily, the camera next to you.”  
  
Chapman raised the tripod to attack, Lily reacted to Clem’s shout and grabbed the heavy camera, throwing it at Chapman, hitting him hard and making him drop his weapon. She tried to tackle him, but he dodged.

“Lily quick, the light!”

Lily reacted, shoving the stage light nearest her towards Chapman. It narrowly missed him making him stumble, Lily grabbed her gun and began to approach Chapman. Then came the gun shot, Chapman fired his gun, hitting her square in the chest, Lily fell back, hitting the ground and Clem froze.

“No...”  
  
Michelle and Minerva screamed through their gags and Chapman turned to them, raising his gun again.

“Now, you-”

But he never finished for there was another gunshot, a bullet through his throat and he choked, falling to the ground dead as Lily stood up, gasping for breath.

She quickly put her gun away and began freeing them.

“Lily how-?” Clem gasped.

Lily shook her head. “It’s me Clem, you think I’d leave home without my vest?”  
  
She lifted her top slightly, showing the bulletproof vest she wore underneath. Clem almost wanted to laugh at that. She should have guessed, it was exactly like Lily to take such preparations. Now all three of them were free of their bonds and such, they stood, Minerva moved her arms over her chest, blushing furiously, looking around.  
  
“Where’s our clothes, I can’t go around like this anymore.” She muttered.

Michelle mumbled but they still caught it. “Burned, he burns out clothes...except our underwear.”  
  
“He what?!” Minerva shrieked.

Lily shook her head. “C’mon guys, let’s get outta here, I can at least get you covered up when we get to my car.”

They did so, Clem followed, feeling calmer for the first time since this whole nightmare began. Once up at the car Lily opened the trunk and pulled out a few blankets, handing them to the girls who quickly covered their exposed bodies.

“Okay just hold on, I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can, first, I’ve gotta let the others know, get some back up here.” Lily explained.

They nodded and waited while Lily went and picked up the radio from her car.

Clementine smiled widely.

‘ _I still can’t believe it, Lily saved us, it’s over.’_ She thought. _‘Wow, this has been so intense I’m actually starting to feel light headed.’_

Lily then made contact through her radio. “Shawn, Andre, can you hear me? It’s Lily, I’ve got important news...”

“Lily?”

“Yeah, I found the hideout of the man behind all this, identified him and rescued his victims...I had to kill him though.” She explained.

There was a shocked reaction as Lily explained as best she could to them, giving them the location and verifying that, despite being on leave, she had still pretty much solved the case. Then Clem felt it, the light headedness was getting worse, it wasn’t excitement or hope, it was the drugs that Chapman had pumped into her, she was suffering a delayed reaction.

“Lily...” She mumbled.

Then she fell, blacking out.

“CLEM!” Lily yelled, then into the radio. “SEND MEDICAL HELP AT ONCE, GET DOWN HERE NOW!”

Minerva and Michelle were watching in horror as Lily rushed to Clem and began desperately trying to resuscitate her.

“C’mon Clem, c’mon, don’t do this, you have to make it.” Lily gasped.

She could only hope however, since Clem was still not moving.


	6. Renewal: Chapter 6

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Chapter 6**

Clementine wasn’t sure what happened, when she blacked out, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever open her eyes again, if that was the end for her. Yet here she was, opening her eyes, strangely she felt no pain, in fact, all she felt was that she was lying on grass. She blinked a few times, focusing her eyes and was startled by what she saw.

‘ _Whoa, wait a minute, that’s...that’s my treehouse?’_ She realized. _‘But then, that means, I’m in...’_

She sat up and looked around, sure enough she was on the grass, under the tree where her treehouse was set. Standing up slowly she noticed she was indeed in the backyard of her childhood home. The home itself also stood, just behind her. She looked down, noting she was at least dressed, no longer in just her underwear, she was now wearing a black T-shirt under a black and red unbuttoned flannel shirt, her blue and white baseball cap, jeans and sneakers.  
  
 _‘How did I get back here, I...wait, no...’_ She thought to herself.

She stopped, noticing that things seemed too bright, namely outside the garden, at the edges of her vision, things were too sharp. She knew right away what it meant, what was going on. She wasn’t home at all.

‘ _This again...I’m, hallucinating, it’s, it’s my memories...’_ She then remembered something. _‘Wait, but then, wouldn’t that mean…?’_

She listened, expecting the voice. But what she didn’t expect was to hear it, as if it was right there, rather than just a voice.

For there, behind her, coming from the direction of the covered up pool, was the voice she only ever heard in her dreams, whenever she was doing something dangerous like her investigation into the disappearances that had just been solved. But it was unmistakeably that one voice.

“Hey, Sweet Pea.”

She spun around and there, sitting on one of the lounge chairs by the pool, was a tall man with a strong build, dark skin and short black hair, black eyes and a black beard and moustache, clad in khaki pants, a white shirt, denim jacket and brown shoes.

“Lee...” She whispered, her voice sounding softer, younger even, than before.

She rushed towards him and he stood up and they both embraced tightly before they pulled back, both looking at each other, smiling warmly.

“Wow, I can’t believe how much you’ve grown.” Lee said softly.

Clementine smiled widely. “I...I just can’t believe it, I never thought I’d, I’d see you again.”  
  
Lee however sighed and shook his head. “Oh Sweet Pea, you’re not. This is just your memories of me.”  
  
“But, but I thought...”

“No, you’re not dead...at least, not yet.” Lee told her. “But you don’t understand do you, why things like this happen?”  
  
Clementine bowed her head, stepping away from Lee, grimacing and thinking to herself.

Finally she sighed and turned to Lee again.

“I...every time I do something like the investigation I was doing. I keep hearing your voice, it’s like you’re back with me and...and...” She began to explain. “But I’ve never come as close to death as this before, this is the first time I’ve seen you...”

“That’s right...but why?”

“Everything just changed for me Lee, ever since you died because of...”  
  
Lee sighed. “Exactly Clem, you’re blaming yourself for something that wasn’t your fault. You haven’t been able to accept my death or move one. That’s the issues you’ve had.”

Clem bristled at that, but then she realized Lee was right, the things noted on her student file, the way she had struggled to deal with things since Lee’s death.

“But I...I can’t lose you, I...” Clem stammered.

Lee shook his head. “You won’t lose me, Sweet Pea, I’ll always be with you, you have have your memories, you have me in your heart. It’s time to move on, you have to realize that it wasn’t your fault what happened to me.”

Clem shuddered at that, shoulders shaking as the tears finally began to fall, unable to say anything just yet. Lee didn’t say anything else however yet, instead he stood and waited, watching her carefully, yet still gently smiling, trying to encourage her to come to the right realization, to finally let go, so that her life could move forward at last.

Finally Clem looked up at the man who had become a second father to her.

“I just...if I, if I do this...how can I…?”

Lee shook his head. “It’s not good for you Clem, this is why your life has been so difficult, you can’t bring yourself to let go of this one moment and it’s holding you back. But remember, no matter what happens, you have to look to the future, despite everything you have built up the chance for a good and wonderful life. Your relationship with Violet, all your new friends. You can make all this work, make it better, but not if you can’t let go of the past.”

She let out a shaky breath. “I’ll never hear you again...”  
  
“That’s the problem, you keep putting yourself in danger to do that, it’s self-destructive Clem.” He told her. “But even if things like this don’t happen again, are you sure you’ll not be able to remember me, to remember the times we shared.”  
  
Hearing it from Lee’s own mouth, Clem couldn’t help but make sense of things now and finally, she managed to smile properly.

“You’re right Lee, I’m sorry, I...I should’ve realized sooner. You were like a father to me.” She revealed at last.

“And your like the daughter I never had.” He said. “Now, remember Sweet Pea, no matter what happens, you’ll always remember me.”

Clem nodded and finally, after so long, she could come to terms with Lee’s death and finally she stepped up and hugged Lee tightly.

He returned the hug and they spoke together, for one last time.

“Goodbye Lee, I’ll never forget you.”

Lee replied gently. “Goodbye Clementine. You have a good life now.”

With that, Clem felt herself fading away, the white light filling her vision as she finally pulled away from her memories, slipping into unconsciousness again.


	7. Renewal: Chapter 7

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Chapter 7**

With a soft groan Clem blinked a few times, her vision clearing, she took in her surroundings and bit her lip. The pure white room, the bed, the sheets, the white hospital gown she was wearing.

‘ _I...I’m alive, I...’_ She realized, before she remembered everything. _‘Lee...you were right, I’m sorry...’_

She knew she had to take on board what her memories of Lee told her, there could be no more of this getting into danger just to see Lee in her mind again. She had come to terms with his death, it was time to let go. She didn’t have to forget him, but she had to stop putting herself at risk for such a crazy reason. It was then she noticed Violet, clad in a white T-shirt that was starting to yellow from age, a frayed denim jacket, ripped jeans and boots. She was in the seat by Clem’s bedside, slumped forward on the bed, head resting on her arms, asleep by the looks of her.

“Vi…?” She whispered, surprised.

“Clem.”  
  
She started and turned her head, seeing she wasn’t alone. A frantic looking Christa and Omid, respectively clad in a purple sweater with black pants and flats and a light orange button-up shirt, khaki pants and loafers, had got out of their seats and were approaching her.

“Christa, Omid...” She whispered, eyes wide.

They both looked so relieved, so worried and Clem bit her lip, knowing that she’d have to ask.

Swallowing nervously she asked.

“What, what happened, I remember, the drugs affecting me, passing out, but…?” She asked warily.

“You almost died Clem.” Christa choked out. “If Lily hadn’t kept trying to resuscitate you, you wouldn’t have lasted for the paramedics to get there. They, they only confirmed that you were safe and wouldn’t die after four hours working trying to save you.”  
  
Omid nodded, also with tears in his eyes. “You were unconscious for three days...we didn’t know if you’d ever wake up...Everybody’s been coming to visit you whenever they could.”

Clem froze at that, horrified. “Three days? But, then…?”

They nodded and Clem looked, worriedly, at Violet asleep by her bed.

“Violet’s the exception...she’s hardly left your side these whole three days.” Christa revealed.

Omid paused and then, seeing Clem’s worried, she explained. “The um...case has been solved, everybody has recovered, as much as can be expected. Physically Minerva and Michelle will be perfectly okay. They’re gonna need help to recover emotionally and mentally however. Lily gave a full report of what happened, including her reasons for shooting Chapman.”  
  
“It’s clear she had no other choice, the bunker was searched and everything in it has proven beyond a doubt his involvement...it looks like it’s over.” Christa remarked.

Clementine nodded, relieved at that.

She couldn’t help but feel hope now. Things were in fact looking up, she had recovered, she’d make it, the nightmare was over and the other girls could finally get closure too, although many of them would naturally need help. It was clear his main reason for targeting the girls he had targeted at Ericsons was their mental issues. Not only would it affect them more, but it made it harder for them to report the matter too. Either being unable to report properly or not being taken seriously.

‘ _But it’s over now.’_ She told herself. _‘He’s not going to hurt anyone again.’_

It was at that moment Violet yawned and woke up.  
  
“Vi.”

Violet started, her eyes widening. “Clem? Clem!”

She couldn’t help herself, so overwhelmed by emotion, she practically threw her arms around Clem, who responded to the hug in kind, the two relieved at her survival and now, no longer holding back in public, they kissed, looking forward to the future at last, certainly feeling now that they had a future and now, closer than ever, they parted, grinning, no matter what, they’d face whatever was thrown at them in the future, together.


	8. Epilogue

**Walking Dead: Unknown Trials**

**Episode 5: Renewal**

**Epilogue**

Larry sighed as he stood, clad in his light blue police uniform, looking through the open doorway of Lily’s office. His daughter sat at her desk, clad in her dark blue police uniform, writing a police report, likely the final report she needed to file for the harrowing case that had finally been solved. But Larry felt like once again she was overworking herself. Then to his surprise, she sighed, closed the file, even though she wasn’t finished yet, she then stood up and nodded to her father and together they left the station, along with the others that were leaving at that time. Finally starting to try and have a life outside of work.

XXXXX

Getting out the car, Kate smoothed down her white blouse, which she wore along with denim shorts and black slip-ons. With her was Gabe and Mariana, respectively clad in cargo shorts, a yellow T-shirt and white sneakers and red sports shorts, a black tank-top and white sneakers. Shortly after they had arrived, Javier’s car pulled up and he got out, clad in white pants, a baseball jersey and black shoes, with him was David, clad in brown pants, a khaki shirt and brown boots. Sitting down they all smiled and, while awkward, they began talking, with hope now for things getting better for the family.

XXXXX

Sam Fairbanks took a deep breath, smoothing down her ripped black jeans, white T-shirt that she tied at the waist, a pair of brown boots finishing the outfit. She nodded to Paige, clad in jeans, a white T-shirt under a black hoodie and dark blue sneakers, the two linked hands and entered the living room of the Fairbanks house. The others were all there, John in a black T-shirt with brown slacks and a Native American necklace. Next to his father on the sofa was Greg, dressed up in jeans, a brown T-shirt and white socks. Seated on the floor before them were James and Alex, respectively clad in black cargo shorts, a grey T-shirt with a black beanie and red socks and black basketball shorts, a red T-shirt and black socks. They all looked up as Sam and Paige approached, while they hadn’t been hiding it, it was time for them to finally properly come out to Sam’s family and began to explain, it wasn’t long before their tension faded and they felt relief as they were accepted, John already hugging them both.

XXXXX

Clad in his usual grey suit with a red shirt and brown shoes, Principal Marshall emerged from the front door of Ericsons, smiling lightly as he spoke to the two leaving students, with everything that happened they were deemed no longer needing Ericsons program and could finish their education in normal schools. The two students were none other than Violet, wearing denim shorts, a purple T-shirt and white sneakers, and Clementine, wearing cargo shorts, a dark blue T-shirt, white ankle socks, black sneakers and her old blue and white baseball cap. After the talk they headed out towards the car waiting for them. Despite everything she had gone through, as well as difficulties due to her missing eye, Violet had recently passed her driving test. The car was her mother’s, she had finally reached out to Violet and they were slowly mending bridges. Getting in the car they drove off, promising to stay in touch with their friends until they could all meet up at last outside of school.

XXXXX

Violet and Clem sat together on the hood of the car, having parked at the beach, enjoying the sun, sand and sea, the sound of the waves, hands linked as they smiled and laughed together, talking excitedly as they sat together, looking forward to the future they now had together.


End file.
